Ang Lee Wants to Direct Angelina Jolie in 'Cleopatra'

The Hollywood Reporter -- This story first appeared in the Jan. 18 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Ang Lee confirmed at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Gala that he really wants to direct Angelina Jolie in Sony and Scott Rudin's adaptation of the book Cleopatra: A Life, by Stacy Schiff.

PHOTOS: THR's Director Roundtable

"I'm about to read the script," Lee told The Hollywood Reporter exclusively. "It just feels right to me after all the other types of films I've done. What does it have in common with any of them? They're all totally different! That's what makes this perfect."

Since it began development in 2010, the project has lost three directors: Paul Greengrass, James Cameron and David Fincher.

PHOTOS: Angelina Jolie's Top 10 Red Carpet Looks

Turns out Cleopatra &mdash played so iconically by Elizabeth Taylor in 1963 &mdash had a love life that went beyond Caesar and Marc Antony: Schiff claims she married each of her two brothers, then slaughtered both.